Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-01-21

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law abiding citizens. Capital punishment
Is terrible thing, but it is better than
the farce OF repeated respites or commu-
tatlons OF sentence, both of which enable
schemlng politicians to turn human tigers
loose upon the community more
Herald.
If capital punishment IS to be abolished
so let it be; but so long as the law punish
es cold. blooded murder with death, the
sentence in a case like this should be car
ried out. It is the best piece of hanging
that has been done in Virginia since Jeter
Phillips was hanged-On circums tanJial
evidence. Governor Lee has acted with
oonsciensiousness and nerve in upholding
law against sentlmentalIty. Baltimore
AaseracGTl. J.
CLUvERIUs' BOOK.
The book written and left by Cluverlus,
was On sale on the streets of Staunton
Saturday afternoon. 1t is entitled "Ciu.
verius, My Life, Trial and Convection; by
Thomas J. Cluverius. 1t is very well
written volume, covering 112 pages. The
most interesting chapters are on Lillian
Madison. the watch key, and his former
statements. In the first he, among other
things, says:
sit may be natural enquiry with the
reader OF these lines as TO what are my
feelings toward the girl with " hose death
am charged. I have been represented
as bloedthirsty fiend, with the cruelty
OF Tiger and the cunning of serpent IN
my heart, but it is certainly not in my
heart to blacken her memory. It is true
that l ana to suffer innocontly for her, but
she is not responsible for it and in no way
contributed to it. Her fate was sad
enough, and although have been charged
again and again with shocking Indifference
to the sickeniug details of her death. the
charge has not been true [ have felt, as
all others who have hearts have felt, that
her death was pltiably, inexpres5lhly sor-
rowfuj; but those who thought me guilty
naturally looked for some tragic and dra.
matte exhibition of regret at her Death
Conscious of entire freedom from COM
plicity in her death, and having no spec
tally Intimate relations, such an exhibition
would have been forced and unnatural. 1
felt regret at her death, intensified by the
evidence Of her previous fall, the same re-
greet thas Others similarly related to her
felt. AS l was not her murderer [ did
not feel like her murderer and therefore
did not act as her murderer. Nothing
short of this, however, would have sat-
isied those who looked on me as her
assassin
In the chapter about the watcL-key,
after discrediting the idea of Joel being
able to Identify it as his property, he
closes as iollowt:
But with all this, I have nothing to do.
Suffice it to say that my solemn declara-
ton, IN the light of eternity, is that this
watch-key, which has been called the
pivotal evidence in tho case, and which
seems to have had so much weight with
the Governor in deciding him against exc
cutive interference, was never mine, and
was never seen by me until this trial
began"
With reference to confession, he says:
Judging from the newspaper para
graphs, there Is considerable anxiety that
L shall confess. I did not see F. l.. Madi-
son during the day and night of the 18th
of March. This is all the confession have
to make"
BOLD RUsE OF THE CONDEMNED MAN
TO GET A RESPITE.
The Richmond Dispatch" OF Saturday
morning says:
Notwithstanding the strenuous efforts
50 faithfully made by the spiritual advi-
sers of Cluverius. it would seem that 40
great impression was made on him in that
direction after all. Thursday night after
II O'Clock Governor Lee received a mes
sage from the prisoner at the hands Of one
of the persons he has trusted most, sta
ting that he was in Mozart hail on the
night of the 18th of March, having escor-
ted to that place young lady of this city,
and that if Governor Lee would give him
a pledge that he would not give publicity
to the name of the young lady or of her
having paid such a visit, that she, with
her mother, would call on him in the
morning friday and make such state
ment to him. The Governor told the
gentleman to go back to Mr.. Cluverius
and tell him he would be only too glad to
see the lady and hear statement of that
kind, but he could not pledge absolute
secrecy, because it might be necessary to
have some inquiries, &C., made to sub
stantiate such an extraordinary staten eDt
made at such an extraordinary time; be-
cause, If true, it would of course prove an
abb, and by it all this long imprisonment
and trouble to the prisoner could have
been so easily avoided; but by all means
let the lady come forward. The Governor
had reprieve made cut ready to sign, so
that the prisoners life could bs spared
even, if necessary, at the last moment,
duO VHlUCu oil Gu0 IuUIuiuS III Ills UIlCS
for that or any other important infOrma-
ton that might be brought to him on
which he could have signed the reprievs
or changed the sentence of the courts, but
none came.
In view of all the facts of the case, the
public can hardly be expected to believe in
the existence of young lady in this city
who accompanied Mr.. Cluverius to the
Mozart on that Friday night, and was
there with him from to half-past 10 2.
M. or at the very time the Commonwealth
placed him at the reservoir committing
the deed; bnt. on the contrary, must re-
gard it an eleventh. or literally twelfth
hour perversion Of truth. Any one who
but few hours before his death could
make such an attempt to influence the &C
tion Of the Governor could not have had
buried very deeply into him the principles
of Gods religion.
CLUvERIUs' LAST NOTE.
Ore Of the very last pieces Of writing
done by the prisoner was to address note
to his Brother Willie, urging Willie to see
some party aud get the party to go before